April 27 2021  |  Airline & Terminal News

SWISS' premium and sustainable future

By Rick Lundstrom

This is a special feature from PAX International's April 2021 Amenities & Comfort digital edition.


Bircher Muesli sells for US$8 in the SWISS Saveurs selection

Up and down the menu on the SWISS Saveurs food and beverage program expanded this year on SWISSare fresh products from familiar companies for Economy Class passengers on short- and medium-haul flights.

SWISS is expanding the program after a three-year pilot project launched out of Geneva. It makes use of local partners, start-ups and established players with products tracked painstakingly by new technology and an operations team that accurately gauges usage. This allows the airline to bring more freshness on board and minimize waste.

Helping SWISS kick off the program is Retail inMotion which has been working with the airline and some of its important partners such as Confiserie Sprüngli, which has supplied fresh Bircher muesli, salads, sandwiches and sweet pastries using its popular recipes. Other products for purchase are Swiss Ragusa and Kägi Fret chocolate, Zweifel chips and Caotina hot chocolate. Coffee comes from the small Zurich-based miró manufactura de café roastery, which sources its beans whenever possible from fair-trade suppliers. There is also a gin from Turicum of Zurich and WhiteFrontier craft beer from Martigny in Canton Valais. SWISS is also launching a new mineral water with its supplier RAMSEIER Suisse AG. SWISS Altitude 1150 water will initially be provided complimentary on SWISS’s short- and medium-haul services.

The prices per item range from CHF7.50 (US$8) for Bircher muesli or a sandwich to CHF18.50 (US$20) for a freshly prepared hot meal that is available on longer flights. Snacks and drinks sell for between CHF3 and CHF12 (US$3.25 to $12).

To adapt the program to the larger operation at Zurich, SWISS developed the menu items and honed the process from Geneva. But Manuel Hübschmann, Retail Director at Retail inMotion, says plans are to take the concept further.

“There has not been a premium, local, sustainable onboard retail program to the extent that we have had it now in Geneva and we will launch and expand it to Zurich,” Hübschmann tells PAX International.

To make the process viable and keep waste at a minimum, Retail inMotion has refined a sophisticated cloud-based artificial intelligence program that helps the airline plan loads for each flight. The program that started in Geneva has been expanded to Zurich. It has garnered industry awards and has the capability to project usage from multiple data points such as flight times, routes and holiday traffic.

“We’ll be breaking new ground here with our packaging as well,” says SWISS Chief Commercial Officer Tamur Goudarzi Pour. “Where we’ll be using sustainable materials wherever we possibly can.” SWISS Saveurs offerings are packaged in PaperWise material, which is made from agricultural waste and using renewable energy, and is thus entirely carbon-neutral.

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